Charles Hudon
Hudon with the Laval Rocket in 2020
Born (1994-06-23) June 23, 1994 (age 29)
Alma, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
AHL team
Former teams		 Ontario Reign
Montreal Canadiens
Lausanne HC
Colorado Avalanche
NHL Draft 122nd overall, 2012
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2013–present

Charles Simard-Hudon (born June 23, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Winger who is currently playing for the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was drafted 122nd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Hudon played his amateur midget hockey within his native Quebec with the Saint-Eustache Vikings of the QMAAA. He was drafted to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, 6th overall by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Following two prolific seasons in the QMJHL he was selected in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

On May 5, 2013, Hudon was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[1] During his last junior season in 2013–14, continuing as the Saguenéens captain, Hudon lead the offense with 41 points in 33 games before he was traded to Baie-Comeau Drakkar. He helped Drakkar to the President Cup Finals, co-leading the team in goals with 10 and finishing third amongst points with 21.

In his first full professional season in 2014–15, Hudon was assigned to the Canadiens AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. Hudon quickly assumed a top-line scoring role and recorded a spectacular rookie season with 57 points in 75 games. Finishing second amongst the Bulldogs in scoring and second amongst rookie's league-wide, Hudon was selected to the AHL All-Rookie Team.[2] Hudon was also selected to the AHL All-Star Game, posting 3 goals and an assist to earn co-MVP honors.[3]

In the following 2015–16 season, Hudon was initially reassigned to new AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps. On December 8, 2015, he received his first NHL recall by the Montreal Canadiens. He made his NHL debut and recorded his first NHL point with an assist in a 3–2 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings on December 10, 2015.[4] He posted another assist in his second game before he was returned to the IceCaps on December 18, 2015.

During the 2017–18 season, Hudon recorded his first two career NHL goals in an 8–3 win over the Ottawa Senators on October 30.[5] In his first season of regular NHL action, he ultimately generated 23 primary points (10 goals and 13 primary assists) on a team that struggled for offensive consistency.[6]

On 6 October 2018, Hudon scored his first goal of the 2018-19 season in a 5-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[7] Hudon snapped a nine game goal drought on 10 November 2018, scoring the first goal in a 5-4 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.[8][9] He ultimately disappointed in his second full season with the Canadiens, registering only five points (three goals and two assists) in 32 games. Hudon rejected a qualifying contract offer, priming him for restricted free agency.[10]

On July 19, 2019, Hudon signed a one-year, $900,000 contract extension with the Canadiens.[11] He was waived by the Canadiens before the start of the season, but cleared and was reassigned to the Laval Rocket.[12] After scoring nine goals to start the season with the Rocket, Hudon was recalled by the Canadiens on 16 November 2019.[13] He was sent back to Laval on 7 December 2019 and earned a spot at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic.[14][15]

On October 12, 2020, despite his restricted free agent status with the Canadiens after he was tendered a qualifying offer it was reported that Hudon would play in Switzerland during 2020–21.[16] On October 16, 2020, Hudon agreed to a one-year contract with Lausanne HC of the NL.[17]

As a free agent from the Canadiens after 7 seasons under contract with the organization, Hudon was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning on July 28, 2021.[18] Following the Lightning's training camp, Hudon was assigned to join AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch for the duration of the 2021–22 season. He matched his career best mark of 57 points, collecting 30 goals and 27 assists through 66 games.

Leaving the Lightning organization at the conclusion of his contract, on July 13, 2022, Hudon was signed as a free agent to a one-year, two-way contract with the Colorado Avalanche.[19]

On July 3, 2023, having left the Avalanche as a free agent, Hudon was signed to a two-year AHL contract with the Ontario Reign, the primary affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Saint-Eustache Vikings QMAAA 40 23 24 47 32 6 4 5 9 4
2010–11 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 63 23 37 60 42 4 0 3 3 4
2011–12 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 59 25 41 66 50 18 6 5 11 16
2012–13 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 56 30 41 71 66 6 5 5 10 8
2012–13 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 9 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2013–14 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 33 14 27 41 57 — — — — —
2013–14 Baie-Comeau Drakkar QMJHL 24 12 23 35 26 22 10 11 21 30
2014–15 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 75 19 38 57 68 — — — — —
2015–16 St. John's IceCaps AHL 67 28 25 53 79 — — — — —
2015–16 Montreal Canadiens NHL 3 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
2016–17 St. John's IceCaps AHL 56 27 22 49 52 4 1 3 4 2
2016–17 Montreal Canadiens NHL 3 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Montreal Canadiens NHL 72 10 20 30 38 — — — — —
2018–19 Montreal Canadiens NHL 32 3 2 5 16 — — — — —
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 46 27 8 35 51 — — — — —
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 15 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Lausanne HC NL 33 15 17 32 28 6 2 1 3 6
2021–22 Syracuse Crunch AHL 66 30 27 57 56 5 0 1 1 2
2022–23 Colorado Eagles AHL 61 29 25 54 40 7 4 0 4 6
2022–23 Colorado Avalanche NHL 9 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 134 14 27 41 58 2 0 0 0 0

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 Canada Quebec U17 4th 6 5 6 11 8
2011 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 5 4 9 0
2011 Canada U18 4th 7 0 1 1 2
2014 Canada WJC 4th 7 1 1 2 2
Junior totals 25 11 12 23 12

Awards and honours

Award Year
QMJHL
All-Rookie Team 2011
Michel Bergeron Trophy 2011
Rookie of the Year 2011
CHL Top Prospects Game 2012
AHL
All-Rookie Team 2015 [2]
AHL All-Star Game 2015
AHL All-Star Game MVP 2015 [3]

References

  1. ^ "Canadiens sign Charles Hudon to three-year deal". Montreal Canadiens. 2013-05-05. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  2. ^ a b "2014-15 All-Rookie Team Announced". American Hockey League. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  3. ^ a b "Bulldogs Hudon nets hat-trick in AHL All-Star win". Sportsnet.ca. 2015-01-23. Retrieved 2016-01-02.
  4. ^ "Helm scores twice, Red Wings rally past Canadiens". National Hockey League. 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
  5. ^ Hickey, Pat. "Canadiens' offence explodes in 8-3 rout of Ottawa Senators". Ottawa: Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 16 December 2017. Charles Hudon led the offence with his first two NHL goals
  6. ^ "The best is yet to come for Charles Hudon". Eyes On The Prize. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  7. ^ "Montreal Canadiens - Pittsburgh Penguins - October 6th, 2018". NHL.com. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  8. ^ Hickey, Pat (11 November 2018). "Canadiens put on a lively show to edge flashy Vegas Golden Knights". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Canadiens' Charles Hudon: Sparks comeback Saturday". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  10. ^ Cowan, Stu (2019-06-18). "Charles Hudon turns down qualifying offer from Canadiens". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  11. ^ "Canadiens agree to terms with Charles Hudon". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Cowan, Stu (2019-09-30). "Canadiens' Charlie Lindgren and Charles Hudon clear NHL waivers". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
  13. ^ Lefrançois, Guillaume (2019-11-16). "Hudon rappelé, Kotkaniemi de retour, Drouin et Byron blessés". La Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2019-11-16.
  14. ^ Cowan, Stu (2019-12-08). "Canadiens call up forward Riley Barber from Laval Rocket". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  15. ^ "Rosters announced for 2020 AHL All-Star Classic". TheAHL.com. 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  16. ^ Lefrançois, Guillaume (October 12, 2020). "Charles Hudon to Switzerland?". La Presse (in French). lapresse.ca. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "Big signing added to roster of Lausanne" (in French). Lausanne HC. October 16, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Lightning sign five players to one-year, two-way contracts". Tampa Bay Lightning. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  19. ^ "Avalanche signs Charles Hudon and Andreas Englund". Colorado Avalanche. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  20. ^ "Reign sign Hudon to two-year pact". American Hockey League. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Hudon.
Categories